Amy Berning was the Contracting Officer's Technical
Representatives for this project.

16. Abstract

This study assessed whether persons
who begin drinking at younger ages are more likely to report drunk driving and
alcohol-related crash involvement over the life course, even after controlling
analytically for diagnosis of alcohol dependence and other personal
characteristics associated with the age respondents started drinking. A
national survey conducted for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism in 1992, asked 42,862 respondents the age they started drinking,
whether they drove after drinking too much, and whether they were in motor
vehicle crash(s) because of their drinking. The current study found that, the
earlier the age respondents started drinking, the more likely they were to
report driving after drinking too much and being in a motor vehicle crash
because of their drinking, even after adjusting for current/ever diagnosis of
alcohol dependence and other characteristics and behaviors associated with the
age respondents started drinking. Even among persons who were never alcohol
dependent, those who began drinking in each age group under 21, relative to
those starting at age 21 or older, were more likely to report "ever"
and "in the past year" being in a crash after drinking too much. The
traffic safety benefits of delaying drinking may extend well beyond the legal
drinking age of 21.